Monday Munchies: Cafe Du Monde

Two months ago, I was already anticipating the seasonal move from northern Michigan to southern Louisiana. As I expressed then, I always have bittersweet emotions about this particular move. It’s hard leaving the beauty and solitude of Michigan behind, but it makes it easier knowing that Dan and I are headed to New Orleans, the land of plenty. Plenty of yummy food, plenty of great music, plenty of sensory overload.

For a variety of reasons too silly to list here, we ended up delaying our trip, but we’ll finally be packing up the van and heading south for the winter – in less than two days. And all I can think is... Cafe Du Monde, here we come! ‘Cause just after ordering a plate of raw oysters from Oceana Grill, Dan and I will make a quick stop at this historic twenty-four-hour coffee shop on Decatur Street.

True, we’ve been there more often than we should, but it’s just too hard to resist our standard order: a café au lait and a trio of beignets – essentially, French doughnuts covered in powdered sugar. As I wrote in August, I’ve been to Cafe Du Monde numerous times – it was often the coffee shop of choice among my Quarter-hopping friends and always the preferred after-hours stop following a high school dance.

So, if you ever find yourself in the French Quarter, make sure to stop there at least once. Just be forewarned – that sugar can be messy – so messy, in fact, that all self-respecting police officers (dressed in their customary black uniforms) must order sugarless beignets, or else face the consequences – because, no matter how hard you try, the powdered sugar will find its way on your clothes.

But it’s well worth the mess. I have the dusted pants and heavenly memories to prove it.

What's your favorite doughnut of choice?